MANSFIELD — He seemed surprised no one asked about it during a Q&A, but veteran Republican campaign expert Robert Paduchik didn’t hold back Thursday night regarding Michael Cohen.
Richland County Republicans attending the group’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner at the Mansfield Holiday Inn enjoyed every remark from Paduchik, who will again lead President Trump’s campaign in the Buckeye State in 2020.
Cohen, the ex-personal attorney for President Trump, finished a third day of testimony before Congress on Thursday. As expected, Cohen’s appearances on Capitol Hill generated a great deal of media attention.
Cohen this week accused his former boss of being a “con man” and “cheat,” tying him to criminal probes that have surrounded the president.
Paduchik compared Cohen’s testimony — public and televised Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee — to the 2018 Senate confirmation hearings of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“It sort of makes the Kavanaugh zoo look … like a weirder zoo,” Paduchik said. “This is the funny part. The (House) Democrats have the gavel now. I think the silliness and the craziness … did you see all the Democrats praising him?
“The guy is a felon. ‘He is going to jail for lying to you and you’re praising him like he is some American hero.’ It’s sort of demented … it really is,” Paduchik said.
Cohen pleaded guilty in Federal Court in November to previously lying to Congress about negotiations that never came to fruition for a Moscow building project, which continued during the 2016 campaign year rather than ending that January.
Cohen is scheduled to begin serving three years in prison in May for that and other charges covering alleged tax evasion and hush payments to women who claimed to have had sex with Trump.
Paduchik made it clear he thinks the Democratic attacks on Trump will backfire.
“This is what’s happening and all this craziness, all of this goofiness that takes place in Washington, D.C., from the Democrats makes my job electing Republicans a lot easier.
“In some ways, I feel like I should send (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi a check … it’s just my wife would never talk to me again,” he said with a laugh.
In December, Paduchik announced he would reprise his role leading Trump’s Ohio election efforts in 2020. His work helped Trump win by eight percentage points in the state in 2016.
In doing so, Paduchik announced he will not run for re-election as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, a spot he had held since January 2017.
That doesn’t mean, however, the Delaware resident will not work to elect as many Republicans as possible at every level of government. He praised local Republicans for their efforts.
“I want to thank all of you for everything you’ve done and everything you will do. Your support of the county party is critical. You have had a lot of good election success in this county and all of that is important,” Paduchik said.
“What you do in the county helps us elect governors, attorneys general, secretaries of state, treasurers and auditors … but it also helps us elect presidents,” Paduchik said.
The vast majority of Paduchik’s 27-minute speech, including the questions and answers, dealt with Trump’s efforts at boosting the American economy, reducing unemployment, cutting regulations on business and “reshaping the judiciary for generations to come.”
Paduchik, who also led successful Ohio campaigns for President George W. Bush, was also critical of the ideas being put forth by the current Democratic presidential field.
He singled out the New Green Deal, vastly expanded Medicare programs, and Democratic opposition to the recently proposed “Born Alive Abortion-Survivors Protection Act,” which he termed infanticide.
“From a moral standpoint, it’s hard to understand how the Democrats don’t hold their head in shame,” Paduchik said.
“The candidates so far that have gotten into the Democratic contest are like something off of Crazy Island. I mean, you really can’t make this thing up. This makes Bernie Sanders look like a conservative, for crying out loud.”
